For everyone heading into college, the same speech is probably given. “The economy is different from in my time,” the wizened old person says, “a bachelors degree is not enough anymore, and forget about following your dreams. You need to get into something solid and reliable. Or else, you’ll end up in a dead-end job, just like______.” Then, they insert the name of some well-known local failure or give you a labor statistic.

I don’t want to suggest that that advice is bad in whole. There’s a lot to be said for looking out for your future career from the start of college (if not before). College is expensive these days (more expensive than in the olden days), and to justify that debt, a calculation should be done by every incoming student to find just what work would be worth that much money.

There’s also something to be said for the fact that careers are getting harder to get into and there are fewer in many previous dream-job areas. Journalism, for instance, has severely cut the number of positions over the last couple of decades. What once could promise a decent future on the local paper may now offer only a modicum of unpaid blog work for some nameless and unveiled site.

It’s also true that America is suffering from a lack of people willing to go into careers that for some reason are viewed as undignified. Plenty of plumbers, for instance, find more work and make far better incomes than those people who graduated with journalism degrees. If that seems like a good option for you, take it and don’t feel ashamed about it.

All that can be true, and it can still be worthwhile to follow your dreams, just follow them more realistically. What the old, wizened elder doesn’t tell you is that there are still plenty of fulfilling dream careers out there, they just don’t follow the traditional paths. There aren’t that many artists, for instance, but there are plenty of people in marketing and website design who make a living off their art. There are few journalists, but working hard in the blogging world can pay off. Perhaps instead of studying journalism, study a foreign language and work as a translator, which is still a thriving career. Should a journalism opportunity arrive, you’ll have an extra skill in hand.

Another important factor skipped over is that the so-called steady and reliable jobs have their own hitches. Tech is getting flooded with new applicants because of these wizened elders, and so that market is likely to get increasingly competitive and hard to move ahead. At the same time, there are serious difficulties in the work environment, such as finding full-time versus freelance positions and even getting paid for the overtime expected of you.

The truth of the matter is you can still pursue your dream just as you always wanted to, and you can justify spending the money by finding a good career. The trick isn’t going into an area you’re ill-suited for, the trick is finding out where the careers are that use your skills.

It is simply the circle of life; businesses are born, they grow, they have their ups and downs, and sometimes they fail. While personal bankruptcy is a tragedy for anyone, when a business goes belly-up it could negatively impact hundreds of employees. The only way to counteract this is for new businesses to come in and take the place of the old. In St. Louis, a coal company is experiencing heavy losses and may file for bankruptcy, and if it fails to restructure and pay off its debts, new energy companies will need to fill the gap.

According to an article in St. Louis Today, a major energy company, Armstrong Energy, is considering filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company is primarily a coal supplier that runs five mines in Kentucky, and in 2016 the mines produced nearly six million tons of coal. Armstrong provides heat and electricity to huge portions of southern Illinois and Indiana, so a bankruptcy could be a huge blow to all of their customers. Armstrong reported a whopping $17.2 million loss in the second quarter, and this is on top of failing to make an $11.75 million interest payment in June. This follows a disturbing trend, as in 2016 two other coal companies filed for chapter 11, Arch Coal and Peabody, also headquartered in St. Louis. The reason that these companies are failing is because of increased competition from natural gas companies that are offering cleaner and cheaper energy alternatives. Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows these companies to “restructure” and get their finances in order without worrying about having to pay creditors back for a short period of time.

There are many options in the St. Louis area for those considering bankruptcy. For individuals and families, The Powderly Law Firm, L.L.C can assist with either chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy filings. For huge corporations, however, the chapter 11 process is a lot more difficult and requires multiple lawyers and sometimes even multiple firms. “Restructuring” may involve mass layoffs, and even after the debt is repaid the company may still fail if their financial model is not stable. The losses experienced by Armstrong are not new, and it may be time to reevaluate whether or not coal plants are a viable energy source moving forward. The losses in St. Louis and in Kentucky, where the mines are, will be devastating. In order to save these states, new industries will have to come in to take their place.

In the face of climate change, new energy sources are constantly being researched. Natural gas is pushing out coal due to being cleaner and better for the atmosphere, but the methods to extract this energy from the earth are very controversial. It is also not known how long we can sustain ourselves on natural gas, so I think that a push towards wind, solar, and hydroelectric power is the only way forward.

Harassment is one of the last things you want in the workplace. You already have a lot to do and you don’t want to be brought down by such a thing. But sadly, harassment in the workplace still persists, mainly because employers don’t do enough to prevent it and some employees just want to do harm to others.

The website www.leichteremploymentlaw.com, however, mentions that those who have experienced discriminatory behavior, including harassment, in the workplace, may have legal options. But how can harassment manifest in the workplace?

Physical Harassment

Harassment happens when an employee has received unwelcome behaviors, usually involving harm or threat of harm. Usually, an employee receives these behaviors because of his age, ethnicity, gender preference, race, religion, and sex.

The most common form of physical harassment is sexual, wherein an employee is receiving unwanted sexual advances or is being exposed to sexual contents or gestures that have the intention to gratify the sexual needs of the harasser or offend the harassed.

Another common form of harassment is violence, either through threat of harm or outright assault. This violence can be as mild as shoving, moderate as fist fighting, and severe as murdering and raping.

Emotional Harassment

Emotional harassment may be harder to prove, because it usually doesn’t leave behind physical evidence, unlike physical harassment that often results into injuries. But it can be argued that emotional harassment can be considered worse, because of the detrimental effects on the victim’s psyche.

Like physical harassment, emotional harassment is received by an employee typically because of his age, ethnicity, gender preference, race, religion, and sex.

One of the most common forms of emotional harassment is bullying, wherein an employee is consistently targeted with behavior that is meant to intimidate him or mock his features. This is particularly common on persons with disabilities, mainly because they often cannot fight for themselves and may be too limited to approach management and explain the situation.

A holiday vacation onboard a cruise liner is supposed to be a perfect getaway from the stress and the monotonous everyday life. A vacation boat itself, today’s cruise ship is designed like a mini city due to its complete and modern facilities. Quite better than a city, actually, because besides providing quality entertainment and luxurious comfort at very affordable costs, all possible source of fun and excitement have been built in and on it. But while total fun is never an issue while onboard a cruise ship, authorities remain concerned on the safety of the passengers, especially when an accident occurs while out at sea.

Floors becoming slippery due to sea the breeze, ship fire, the ship running aground or colliding with another vessel, rogue waves or a storm, etc., can often turn a great adventure into a nightmare. Another worse scenario is that when something wrong happens, passengers have very limited places to run to for safety.

Due to reports of different sea tragedies during the past years, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) enforced strict compliance with all international flag and port standards, requirements and guidelines to ensure the safety and security of each passenger. Plus, the Safe Return to Port requirement, which all cruise ships built starting 2010 should meet, has also been mandated. This requirement specifically states that the ship, despite an accident, ought to be able to carry all passengers safely back to port, and that all crew members, especially the medical personnel, should be able to skillfully handle all emergency situations.

Cruise ship lawyer Louis A. Vucci, PA, emphasizes the duty and responsibility of the cruise ship staff in making sure that passengers are safe from any risk of injury; this includes the presence of well-trained medical personnel that should be able to provide the medical assistance needed by the passengers.

Despite the laws governing cruise ships, however, accidents still occur and injuries are still often sustained due to the negligence of many crew members. While no crew member would definitely want a passenger to sustain an injury, being neglectful in his/her administrative duties cannot just go unpunished and be without any legal obligation to the injured. Thus, in the event of an injury, consulting with a highly-trained cruise ship injury lawyer will certainly be to the benefit of the injured victim.

Anyone who has had the experiencing of riding a motorcycle will be well aware of the many ways it can prove to be a fast and effective way to travel. On the flip side, these experienced motorcyclists would also be familiar with the many risks involved in using motorcycles on the road. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, motorcycle accidents lead to 30 times more deaths than traffic crashes that involve regular passenger vehicles. Collisions between cars and motorcycles are particularly deadly, given the discrepancy between these two different vehicles in terms of size, speed, and safety features.

There are a number of different factors that contribute to the recurrence of motorcycle accidents in roads all over America. Because of a motorcycle’s size, drivers that become momentarily distracted may take their eyes off the road for a second and miss a motorcyclist giving proper signal before they make a turn or merge into traffic. The lack of any protective chassis around a motorcycle can also cause riders to easily fall or become unseated by even the most minor of collisions. A simple fender bender between two cars can lead to neck and back injuries for an individual riding a motorcycle. It’s also common for motorcyclists to collide with open car doors in busy streets where people typically park their vehicles. These open door collisions can be mitigated and avoided by both motorcyclists and car owners. While car owners are encouraged to keep the doors of their vehicles closed while parked, individuals riding motorcycles should take extra care and maintain a safe speed while navigating down these roads.

Most traffic accidents can be avoided by following good safety practices on the road. Still, for some individuals, the effort to follow traffic laws and regulations won’t matter if they end up sharing the way with a negligent and reckless driver. If you should find yourself in a motorcycle accident despite taking care to mitigate certain risks, the best course of action might be to consult with accident attorneys that can help you learn more about your options.